Luffy ver 2
by Alastair
Summary: We apologize for the inconvenience, but Luffy 2.0 did not start successfully. A recent hardware or software change may have caused this. If Luffy 2.0 stopped responding, restarted unexpectedly, or was automatically shut down to protect his files and folders, choose Last Known Good Configuration to revert to the most recent settings that worked.
1. 01

**Luffy 2.0**_**1**_

By the time she got home, Nami was exhausted.

Just ten hours ago, she had been on top of the world. After all, being one of the top weather meteorologists of the World Government had its perks, and she was always ready to take on the next challenge presented to her.

Except, she hadn't been prepared for being laid off.

She kicked her door open, went inside, and slammed the door behind herself. Tossing her box of office supplies on her couch, she went straight to her kitchen to go through her fridge. She had always saved up money, so she knew she would be able to go on for a few months until she found a replacement job, but it would still be hard to find a company that would take her in.

Nami poured herself a glass of orange juice, and began to drink it only to pause, blinking at her front window.

Having been so upset, Nami hadn't noticed it going inside, but there was a giant cardboard box blocking the window next to her front door.

She drank a little more before putting it down to go outside.

She looked up, staring at the nearly six foot tall box in perplexity. Nami frowned, and tilted her head to the side before she started to walk around it, looking for a label.

Only, she didn't find a label on the sides.

After a moment of thinking, she went to her hall closet to get her dolly, and went to carefully bring the box inside. The only words she had found on the box, after all, were the upside down: 'This side up' and 'FRAGILE'.

Nami decided to lay it on its side, figuring that whatever damage had been done to what was inside was done already.

She then checked the top and bottom of the box for the label - she found it on the bottom:

_To Nami_

"Well, that's unhelpful …"

Rolling her eyes, she started to open the box, cutting through the tape with one of her keys, and she pulled aside the tab only to scream. Falling back, she crawled backwards away from the box. Reaching for her cell phone, she called the emergency number.

"_Your call is being redirected_"

"Huh!?"

"to _- your machine - Please hold, and - your machine - will monitor_"

"What machine!? Hello?"

"_you … Please hold while - your machine - starts up for the first time. As this is an emergency call_"

"You're damn right it is!"

"- _your machine - will start up in Action Mode._"

Finally, just as she had feared, the man who had been hiding inside the box began to awaken. He slowly sat up straight, and she quickly scrambled to her feet to grab a lamp, throwing it at him.

The cord caught, however, and thus the lamp missed him by a foot.

"Shit, shit! Help! Somebody, help!"

He stood up straight then, and turned to her, "Booting hard drive." She froze, staring in amazement as his eyes suddenly began to glow red. "Booting OS Luffy 2.0." As his eyes then slowly began to fade into orange and then yellow, she realized that his eyes looked like glass. "Booting core procedures." Slowly, she reached out to touch his hair, and felt the synthetic, wiry, messy, black hair. His eyes faded into green before finally the light stopped glowing, and his eyes were simply normal black eyes, "Enabling Action Mode … Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?"

She blinked rapidly, staring at him before she said, "What … are you?"

"Processing inquiry …" He frowned then - like a little boy who wasn't given a candy sweet - "I'm an android."

"I … yes, I can see that now …" she bit her tongue, blushing in embarrassment. "I didn't know that androids were so advanced now. I mean, I know there have been a lot of breakthroughs recently, but I - I mean … I'm sorry, I'm babbling. You … you surprised me." She began to relax, recalling all of the safety procedures installed in androids to prevent harm to humans.

He smiled after a moment - _He really is like a boy_, she decided - and said, "So you're okay? You're not hurt, are you?" He tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms as he said, "I don't have any programs to heal humans though."

"Programs?" When he didn't answer, she cleared her throat, "What do you mean? What programs do you have?"

"Processing inquiry … I have fifteen programs installed. Eleven are required for motor functions, and senses. One of these programs have three add-ons, two of which are required for protection. Would you like me to list these programs?"

"Honestly, I think it took longer to say all that than it would to list them all …" she said, deflating in annoyance and exhaustion from his momentary lapses of sounding intelligent. One moment, he was adorable, and then the next, he sounded very much like an emotionless robot, "Forget about that - I mean, no, don't delete any memory!"

He raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, she was stunned by the simple action - which must have been a very complex movement for his developers to create - "I know about that kind of phrase."

"Ah, heh, well … I meant to ask you something else anyway." She tilted her head, circling him slowly, "Why were you sent here?"

"You're Nami."

Nami stiffened, and stopped walking just behind him, "Yes … how do you know that?"

"Your voice, your face, and your smell."

Turning bright red again, she snapped, "What!?"

"Your voice, your face, and your smell."

"I heard you the first time!"

He seemed to be processing that, silent a few moments before he turned to look back at her, "Did you not understand?"

"I didn't mean that I didn't get it! What I don't understand is - is how! Or why! Why do you know these things about me? And … you're sniffing me!?"

His face screwed up in confusion, turning his body to face her fully, "Because you're my master. I have to be able to identify you through these three programs. Olfactory, Visual, and Auditory Perceptions."

"Let me guess, some of those required programs."

He smiled brightly, "Yeah!"

"Okay, so … why are you here?"

"Processing inquiry … I don't know," he continued to smile obliviously at her, so it was a little difficult to summon up any anger.

Nami said after a moment, "Okay … how about this … what were you built to do?"

"I'm a fighting android."

Her eyes widened, gaping at him, "Who the hell sent you to me?"

"Processing inquiry … I don't know," he said before something that looked like confusion seemed to pass through his face.

"How can you not? Why - why do you know my information? Why do you know me?"

"Processing inquiry …"

"Oh, stop saying that!"

"You are my master. That means you're basically my trainer … or maintenance?"

Nami's jaw hung open a moment longer before she said, "What … why would I need a fighting robot?"

He pouted, shoulders hunching, "Android."

"No, no, there must be some mistake," she laughed nervously, turning to the box. She read _To Nami_ on the end again before digging into the box's contents, "AC adaptor, cooling unit, aha! Instruction manual … in some other language … oh! You can translate it for me, and then we can solve this mystery!"

When she shoved the book into his hands, he turned to the first page, scanning it before he said, reading from the book, "Seu novo Android está equipado com novas funcionalidades que a versão-"

"Wait, stop. You have to translate it for me. I can't understand what you're saying."

The android frowned softly at her, "I can't understand it either. I don't have a translating program."

She twitched before she went through the box again, "More adaptor cords, extra parts, some extension cards … this is useless! Who sends fighting robots to unsuspecting women!?"

"Processing inquiry …" he was silent for so long that Nami looked up from searching the box to stare at him until he finally said, "Bored … people?"

"You really are some fighting macho head. I thought androids were supposed to be super smart."

He grinned, "Nah, I was just built for fighting, and social interactions."

Pursing her lips, Nami said, "Social interactions?" He didn't answer her, only tilting his head, and she sighed, "I guess even your social interactions are limited."

"I just … don't know how to respond to one phrase questions. I don't know what you don't understand, so I can't answer," he put his hand behind his head as if he were planning on scratching it.

She sighed, and sat down on the couch, "I just want to know why you're here."

"I could scan my memory cache for clues."

"You could do that?"

"Yeah, of course! Scanning now …" he went still, and Nami was about to get up to get her glass of orange juice to let him scan through all his memory to find out, only he suddenly jerked back to attention, "I am here because I was in that box!" He nodded, looking very proud of himself.

She opened, and then closed her mouth. When she opened it again, she said, "You are an idiot."

"What? But that's what happened. Your emergency call forced a quick setup, so I got out of the box to help you!"

"You don't remember how you got into the box?" Nami asked, eyes widening.

"I booted up for the first time in the box," he said. "I must've been … born in the box!"

Her mouth worked silently before she shook her head hard, "Scan for - for memory corruption! Scan for every kind of error you can think of!"

"Scanning now … " she sat on the edge of her seat, watching him closely while he went still during his scan. Finally, he jerked back into motion, "I have one system error."

She leaned forward more, "What is it?"

"I can't disable Action Mode."

Eyes impossibly wide now, she gaped, "What's Action Mode? Is that going to be a problem?"

"Eighty percent of my CPU is reserved for powering Pugilism. Five percent is powering nine required programs. Ten percent is poweri-"

"Okay, wait, eighty percent is powering what?"

"Processing inquiry … eighty percent of my CPU is powering nothing. It is in reserve, and cannot be used by any other program."

"Okay … that sounds like a lot of power isn't going into your required programs … which I would think would be kind of bad," Nami said, getting up to look over his head to search for some kind of access port. She gently rifled through his hair to see if there was a flap she could pull aside, "What is it in reserve for?"

"Processing inquiry … it is reserved for powering Pugilism."

She frowned when she couldn't find anything, and carefully felt along the back of his neck. Just because she couldn't see any breaks in the synthetic skin - which was amazingly real feeling - didn't mean that there wasn't some cleverly hidden spot, "What is Pugilism?"

"Processing inquiry … It is a fighting program. It gives me the ability to fight with hand to hand combat techniques."

She frowned, glancing over him with an annoyed sigh, "Where's your access port? I want to check your system."

He unbuttoned his shirt then, and turned around. Nami's lips parted slightly, staring at his superbly formed chest and abs before her eyes glued to the large X-shaped scar in the middle of his chest.

"What …?"

He then carefully peeled the scar open from the middle, four triangular skin flaps opened up to reveal the hard chest plate beneath. There were screws holding it in place, and she licked her lips before she nodded slowly in understanding. He said, "You can access my main components here."

"Okay, just … wait here, and I'll get my tools."

She dug through the box she had taken from her old office, and pulled out some basic tools like screwdrivers, tweezers, and pliers. When she laid these out, she rushed back to her home office to dig into her closet for her old beginner's andro/gynoid kit. When she was young, Nami had dabbled in android technology for fun, and suddenly she felt like a little girl again. Never mind the strange feature of his CPU and motherboard being in his chest cavity.

She had never heard of such a thing except for in science fiction from the past. All modern androids had their motherboard chipset in their head cavity. Most motherboards by this time didn't need to be so large like they had been in the past.

She bit her lip as she opened the kit, eyeing the old chipsets she had created before glancing at him, wondering how compatible he would be with them. Before getting interested with the weather, she had developed something she had always wanted to try out …

Was he even manufactured in the World Government?

Unscrewing the plate, she pulled it off, looking over the giant motherboard.

"There's open slots everywhere. You must really be barebones, mister." She paused then, frowning in thought, "What is your name anyway?"

"You haven't created a name for me yet," he pouted, and she realized then that he looked a little upset by this fact.

"Uh, well, I haven't decided to keep you, you know. This is just some mistake. I don't need a fighting android," she said, looking over the motherboard. "Honestly, I don't think I even need a simple, serving android. That sort of thing's for a family or maybe a couple."

"I see …"

Nami blinked, looking up at him before her eyes widened in shock as his downturned features, "I just lost my job too! I can't really afford to maintain you or anything. All I have is a kit from when I was a kid! I'm not some android scientist. It was just a little hobby, and I'm sure everything I do know is outdated by now."

He just fidgeted on his feet, frowning. He looked so lost, "I'm registered to you though ..."

She sighed, pressing a button near the motherboard that she recognized would pull up the GUI. As a monitor slid up from his lower abdomen cavity, she pursed her lips as she read what was on the screen:

_Primary Master … Nami_

_Primary Slave … machine_

_OS Luffy 2.0_

Nami cringed, but decided to concentrate on something else, "What is OS Luffy?"

"Processing inquiry …"

"Damn it, you're too slow!"

"OS stands for operating system, and OS Luffy is the version before OS Luffy 2.0 which is my operating system."

Nami sighed, closing her eyes to think before she said, "So you're the second version … but calling you Luffy 2.0 sounds annoying, so you'll just be Luffy."

His eyes widened slightly before he started to smile, "You mean it? You'll keep me!?"

"Well, I'm not going to just toss you out in your box … We'll just have to figure out how to get you out of Action Mode so you can operate at full capacity." She glanced at the screen, noting that machine was changed to his new name, "Also … I can customize this screen, right?"

"Processing inquiry …"

She groaned, "You've got to be joking me."

* * *

_Primary Maintenance … Nami_

_Primary Fighter … Luffy_

_OS Luffy 2.0_

* * *

_Just when I thought I had nothing else to go through my head, out pops this. I have a feeling this'll be a much faster write than _Outside In_, which I hope to turn into something that'll be monthly. This will be … as it comes and flows through me, I suppose._

_Also, damn it, its real title is Luffy 2.0. LET ME SHOW PERIODS. So the top line is the right title._


	2. 02

**Luffy 2.0**_**2**_

When Nami woke up the next morning, she headed out into the living room, frowning when she didn't see the android. She had told him to rest on the couch while she slept since he didn't have any duties after all - however he was quite capable of deciding that he was rested enough and wandering off. She glanced into the kitchen, and blinked when she saw him sitting at the breakfast table, his head on it.

"Luffy?"

"Nami!" He sat up straight then, beaming, "Good morning! You're finally up!"

"I'm sorry," she said, not quite sure why she would apologize to an android - he was deceptively human-like. "I did go to sleep at two in the morning though … You weren't bored, were you?"

"So bored!" She smiled at his honesty, "And I couldn't go and wake you up. Not after everything you tried to help me."

She sighed, setting to work on making some coffee. Not only had she been unable to disable Action Mode, but he couldn't even do the simplest household tasks. Nami wondered where she could find housekeeping programs for him, but then shook the idea off. She still didn't need an android to help around the house. She wasn't sure a fighting android would accept housekeeping programs into his operating system anyway, and that was the only reason for which she could think to keep him.

In the end, the only thing she had been able to do was finish going through the rest of his setup process which hadn't been anything special - like setting up a home computer or a handheld device. Luffy, however, had been ecstatic about the whole deal.

Nami went to sit with him to wait on her coffee, "Well, now I have a full day figuring out what's wrong with you. I wonder what happened though … You went into Action Mode after I called the emergency number."

Luffy tilted his head to the side - she could already tell he would sometimes mimic some of her actions - and said, "Yeah, and I'm still worried about you."

Her eyes widened at that, "Huh? Why?"

"You never answered me. You're okay, right?"

Blinking rapidly, she said after a moment, "Yeah, of course. I'm fine, Luffy."

He smiled brightly, "Good!"

Nami leaned forward then, narrowing her eyes as she watched him, "Did it work?"

"Huh? Did what work?"

"Can you disable Action Mode now?"

"Processing inquiry …" she groaned, rolling her eyes, and he said, "Nope."

"Well … I'm out of ideas then." She licked her lips after a moment, looking at his still bared chest, "Maybe I should open you up again."

"A system reboot would do the trick."

Nami winced at that, staring at him in shock, "What?"

"And then you could go through my setup like normal."

"I … I couldn't do that though … it would erase everything between us so far … And that doesn't mean it would fix the original error. If you went into Action Mode during an emergency, then the error might happen again. Let's just try to fix it as you are now."

He began to smile slowly, and said, "You don't have to do that for my sake. I'm your android."

"But you're not my slave," she snapped, and his eyes widened slightly. "So don't suggest that ever again."

"Understood!"

Standing up to pour her coffee, she sighed, "As you are right now though … the only thing you are useful for are the fighting tournaments, but …"

He brightened, "Great! Let's go!"

"I'm going to bring a professional in first though, and get some new tools to take care of you. Ten year old tools from a kid's kit isn't going to work. And if the professional can't fix you …" she sighed, "Well, then, you're stuck in Action Mode. I'm sorry."

Luffy just smiled brighter at her.

* * *

"This is … wow, look at all the circuitry! This guy is a beaut!" Whistling, Usopp - the professional that she had hired to come over - pulled his goggles down, leaning in to look closer at the motherboard, "And it's all in his chest?"

"He … came out of the box like that."

Usopp glanced at her over his shoulder, "The box?"

"Well, yeah, that's how androids come," she said with certainty.

"No … usually, they're activated at their factory, and they travel to their master by themselves."

Nami's eyes widened, "What? But …"

He suddenly sat up, scratching his head, "Well, I don't see anything wrong with the hardware. I'll check the software." He brought up the monitor to continue his work. "So what are you going to do with him, if you don't mind me asking?"

Shaking off her uncertainty, she said, "Well, he wants to fight in the tournaments."

"He wants to …?" Usopp looked up at Luffy who smiled at him.

"Yeah, I can't wait!"

Nami smiled, "So I might as well submit him into the tournaments."

The technician stared at Luffy a bit longer before turning back to the screen,"Oh … I didn't know they changed their rules."

Nami perked, "What rules?"

Usopp said as he continued to run tests via the monitor, "They don't allow androids with motherboards in anything but their head cavities … You can't enter him into any legal tournament the way he's built."

As Luffy started to droop, and pout, Nami pursed her lips, staring Usopp down before she said, "No … legal tournaments, huh?"

Eyes widening, his shoulders hunched up - he wasn't looking directly at her - "Ah … that - that's right! No way for him to enter the tournaments!"

"Aw, man, but I really wanted to do it. It sounded so fun …"

Nami loomed over Usopp, ignoring her android, "Yes, it's such a shame that he can't enter _those_ tournaments, don't you agree?"

"I - I-"

"And it would be such a shame to remind you how certain android laws don't apply to me."

Usopp froze, "I - I might ..."

She leaned in more, "Yes?"

"I might know … something that would interest you …"

"No! Really? That would just be wonderful if you would tell me about it."

"Well, there's this underground tournament circuit that I could … invite you and your android to."

She beamed brightly, "Great! Luffy, we're going to enter you into a tournament!"

Brightening, Luffy pumped his fists into the air, "All right!"

"But, just - just so you know! It's not my fault if your android gets busted! There's so few rules, it's super dangerous! That's why they're illegal - the damage done to androids and robots is astronomical! No matter what he's made of - he'd get torn apart!"

Nami frowned softly in a little worry, "So few rules?"

"Like there's nothing prohibiting electrical attacks. One good zap with that, and your android's circuits are either fried or … or he's dead. You'd have to rebuild his insides if it was really bad."

"Electrical attacks …" She smiled then, "Is that all? I have the solution for that right here."

* * *

Luffy smiled, kicking his feet as they dangled off the table. The technician, Usopp, hadn't been able to find anything wrong with Luffy's hardware, software or settings, so he was still stuck in Action Mode.

She wasn't sure she wanted him to be taken out of Action Mode anyway - she was beginning to get attached to the quirky way that he was.

Nami bit her lip, concentrating on the new expansion card on which she was working. The new expansion card was only slightly different from what she had been used to making when she was younger, but it was different enough that she was having some trouble copying the properties she desired over onto it.

"Nami?"

"Yes, Luffy?" She chewed her lip as she carefully soldered the card.

"What is that thing anyway?"

"Well, it's a program I made when I was still playing with android technology. It _should_ protect you from power surges. Like from electrical attacks."

"Eeeh? I thought power surge protectors couldn't defend me from hits like those."

"This is different," Nami said proudly. "I amped it up as much as I could, so it should save you from a direct hit, and from getting say … your hard drive wiped."

Luffy beamed at her, "Great!"

She looked it over after cleaning it in alcohol before turning to him, "Do I have to turn you off first to put it in …?"

"Processing inquiry … Nah, I'm hot swappable."

She blinked, staring at him, "Oh …? What … is that?"

"It means you can just plug it in, and I'll install it automatically."

Frowning softly at that, Nami said, "What if someone else plugged something into you?"

"I wouldn't accept it," Luffy said with a smile.

Feeling warmer, she cleared her throat, and got up to look in the fridge so she could face away from him. She said as she went through the fridge to get out some fixings for dinner, "Well, I am your master."

"Maintenance."

She blinked, looking back at him in surprise before laughing, "You cheeky little … yeah, that's right, I'm just maintenance."

When Luffy smiled so broadly, she felt her cheeks heat up again, and she went back to preparing dinner. He said, "I can't wait to fight in the tournament. I'll get to the very top!"

Smiling, Nami said, "You really want to fight, huh?"

"Well, it's what's in my programming, and it sounds like fun."

"But … does it sound like fun because it's the only thing you can really do right now?"

Luffy frowned softly at that, tilting his head, "Processing inquiry …" she sighed, "I'm a fighting android. I'm not programmed to want to fight - I have an A.I. and my own wants and needs." He smiled brightly at her, "I want to fight, but I want to help you too."

* * *

"Welcome to the eighty first annual Androfest!" Nami chewed her lip, dusting nervously at Luffy's shirt. "The preliminaries are about to begin! Will the contestants please direct their androids and gynoids to their class arena!"

"Luffy, don't worry - you'll do great."

Snickering, he said, "You're the one that's worrying, Nami. I'm going to blow them all away."

Biting her lip, she nodded, gently grasping his shirt, "I know … you - you do that."

When she finally smiled, he could only beam brightly back at her. Giving her a thumbs up, Luffy turned to head for the Super Heavyweight arena then, "I'll see you when I win!"

"You better win!"

When he reached the entrance to the arena, a blonde gynoid that was shaped like an angel was there, calling out, "Android, Eneru, is in the first bout. Android, Luffy, is in the first bout. Android, Kuro, is in the second bout. Gynoid, Wednesday, is in the …"

Tuning this out, Luffy went to wait at the back of the crowd, crossing his arms as he smiled excitedly. Most of the other androids, however, didn't seem to react much to anything the gynoid was saying, and he frowned in a bit of confusion, tilting his head. Most - if not all of them - seemed to have dead eyes. None of them even looked at each other. No one was talking to another except for the tournament's gynoid who was deciding bouts.

"And I thought I was the only one dumb enough to enter!"

Blinking rapidly, Luffy turned to see a tall man with blue hair approach who had obvious cyborg adjustments done to him, and he smiled, "Wow, that's crazy! I didn't know cyborgs could join."

He stared blankly at him in surprise then, tilting his head, "Isn't that what you are? You're the only one here other than me that doesn't have super glassy eyes." Leaning in, he grinned, "And what's a pipsqueak like you doing in the Super Heavyweight Class?"

"I'm over a hundred and fifty kilograms, and I'm an android, not a cyborg."

Jaw dropping, he gaped, "What!? You!? But - but you're …! That's amazing. What kind of A.I. could …? You're just something else, aren't you? Who would make that kind of A.I. for a fighting robot?"

"Processing inquiry …"

"Huh?"

"Mad … scientists?"

The man blinked before he burst out laughing, "Yeah, you really are something else! The name's Franky!"

Smiling, he said, "I'm Luffy! My maintenance is Nami. She's waiting out in the audience now, I guess."

"Maintenance, huh? Well … who built you?"

"Processing inquiry … I don't know."

"Huh … well, that's weird. Second android today."

Luffy perked at this new data, frowning in concern, "Second android?" He thought he was getting the hang of this single phrase question thing.

"Yeah, I ran into another android who didn't know who made him. Really weird guy. With a weird design."

Thinking of Nami and how confused and worried she was about Luffy's own origin, he asked, "Which android is he?"

"Well, he's taller than you with a ring of drums sprouting from his back."

"All androids, gynoids, and cyborgs, please wait in the order of which you will be fighting in the arenas! Androids of the first bout, please, enter the arena!"

Luffy frowned softly, looking around for the android Franky had described only to spot the strange drum appendage near the entrance. He pointed over at him, "Is it that android over there?"

"Yup, looks like him."

Noting how the androids and gynoids were lining up, he said, "Looks like he's fighting me then."

"Oi, Luffy, be careful. If his fighting programs are anything like your A.I., then he's a dangerous android."

Grinning, Luffy told him, "Then he'll have to worry about me."

"Huh?"

"Maybe my A.I. is more dangerous."

* * *

Nami cheered when Luffy walked into the arena, looking down from the best seat she had been able to find.

"Kick his ass, Luffy!" Through the midst of all the cheers, she doubted that he could hear her, but then he turned on his heel, and seemed to smile straight at her.

"In this first bout of the Androfest Super Heavyweight Class preliminaries, we have two mysterious androids! Both have unknown exoskeletons! Both have unknown manufacturers! _Both_ have unknown creators! I give you - at over two meters - the Lightning God, Eneru! And - at a staggering weight of one hundred and eighty five kilograms - the pugnacious, Luffy! Fight!"

Eneru raised his palm, and a bright light flashed across her eyes, striking Luffy down. He slid across the arena floor, slamming into the walls of the arena before collapsing.

"Ooh! Is this the end already? Electric shocks like that are always kickers!"

Her heart leapt up into her throat, staring at him, "No, Luffy … please, don't …"

Bracing himself on the ground, Luffy pushed himself back up, and scowled at the other android.

"What's this!? Maybe the Lightning God is just a dud!"

Eneru's hand was still up, and the bright flash of lightning struck again. When the light was no longer blinding her, she gasped, staring down at the spectacle that the audience was now cheering for. Up on his feet still, Luffy's arms were stretching out, and punching the other android repeatedly, moving so fast that it seemed like he had grown arms

Shaking the surprise off, Nami whooped, waving at him, "You can do it!"

Closing in on the other android, Luffy's punches looked like they were gaining more and more impact, and soon Eneru was attempting to step further back away from the strikes.

"Yeah! Luffy, beat him into a pulp!"

Once Luffy was closer, however, Eneru caught both wrists, and grinned, saying something that was lost in the hundreds of cheers. Nami could see Luffy's eyes widen before a flash of lightning consumed him, and she had to look away - the flare was so great that it overtook the stadium. When she could look again, Eneru was standing over his body.

"No! Luffy, stand up!" He began to rise again, and she sighed in relief, _It's working!_

However, Eneru again struck with that bright lightning strike, and when she could see once more, Luffy was down on the ground.

"Luffy! Come on! That's nothing!"

He pushed himself up.

Her lips parted to cheer. She was beginning to smile again.

Electricity surged over Luffy's body then, and she screamed as Eneru's lightning filled the arena.

* * *

_Send all complaints to Confession68._


	3. 03

**Luffy 2.0**_**3**_

She clutched weakly at his hair, her cheek pressed to his as she sobbed.

He didn't even twitch.

"Nami?"

Gasping, she looked up to see Usopp in the doorway, "He won't move. He won't respond … It's my fault, Usopp."

Scratching the back of his head, he commiserated with her, "I saw the whole thing. Whatever you did was working, but … I'd say all of his power was still being rerouted to that Pugilism program. It wasn't you."

"Lemme through! Where is he!?" A giant man - android? cyborg? - burst through the door then, shoving Usopp aside, "Luffy! Super! I found you!"

Nami stared at him in confusion, "Who …?"

"Ah, sorry, you must be Nami, missy! I'm Franky. I met Luffy just before his fight, and … uh, aren't you going to repair him?"

Biting her lip in shame, she said softly, "I don't know how. The diagnostics team said that … he's …"

"Let me help! Free of charge, little missy!"

As Franky stepped up to the bench on which Luffy was lying, she reluctantly started to unbutton his shirt, "All right …"

"A scar?" Franky whistled, settling in so he could watch as Nami peeled the artificial skin back from the center of the giant X-shaped scar. With the chest plate bared, Franky started to take it off himself, and Nami pulled Luffy's head over to press it against her bosom. He glanced at her curiously, but began to pull out his program expansion cards, and looked over his motherboard, "I don't see any burns yet, so … oh, no …"

Eyes widening in fear, she leaned in, "What? What is it?"

Cringing, Franky reached in, and seeming to move a bit more tenderly, detaching something carefully first before he pulled it out. Her heart panged, recognizing the hard drive. He said after a moment, "I'll see what I can save. It's not too late yet."

Tears overflowed, and she bowed her head over Luffy's, crying out, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Nami," Usopp said, "it's not your fault! Your program was doing great!"

"He could hear me …" her voice cracked as she spoke. "Through all the screaming, and the lightning … Luffy could still hear me cheering for him … that's why he kept getting back up …"

"But that's …"

Franky began to cry then too, leaning back so he wouldn't get Luffy's insides wet, "That-! That is a real man!"

Frowning, Usopp said, "He's an android!"

"No! Not a man!" He stood up, pointing down at Usopp, "Luffy was human!"

She blinked, looking up in horror at Franky, "'Was?' Isn't there anything you can do for him!?"

He winced then before he said, "Let me make sure first."

* * *

She stroked his hair - it comforted her even though she knew he couldn't feel it.

Franky had completely cleaned any and all burn marks he had found before finally putting everything back inside.

"Now … where's the on button?"

Nami blinked at that, looking up from Luffy, "It's not on the motherboard?"

He frowned, and he seemed to check in the chest cavity again, "I don't see anything in here."

Pursing her lips, she looked down at Luffy - his left cheek smooshed against her breast before her eyes narrowed slightly at the scar below his left eye. Biting her lip, she reached down then to part the scar gently, eyes widening as her finger pushed through. She hesitated when she felt a button below her finger, and she looked up at Franky who only stared - a mix between amazement and bewilderment. Nami said, "I think it's here."

Taking a deep breath, she pushed down on it, and his eyes opened, glowing white.

Smiling, she leaned in, "Luffy!" He didn't respond, staring straight up and through her. "But he's …"

"Of course, he's on. Doesn't look like his power's been damaged," Franky said, looking over the screen, "Now it's time for the real tests."

She pouted, squeezing his head against her bosom more.

"Hmm? All right! Super!"

Nami sat up straighter to look at the screen, and tilted her head so she could read it:

_We apologize for the inconvenience, but Luffy 2.0 did not start successfully. A recent hardware or software change may have caused this._

_If Luffy 2.0 stopped responding, restarted unexpectedly, or was automatically shut down to protect his files and folders, choose Last Known Good Configuration to revert to the most recent settings that worked._

_If a previous startup attempt was interrupted due to a power failure or because the Power or Reset button was pressed, or if you aren't sure what caused the problem, choose Start Luffy 2.0 Normally._

_Your options are:_

_Safe Mode_

_Last Known Good Configuration_

_Start Luffy 2.0 Normally_

"Huh? What's all that mean?"

"I think we did it! If you made a Last Known Good Configuration for him, he'll be right as rain! There'll be some memory loss, but he should be fine."

Nami's eyes widened, and she began to fret, "But I didn't make anything like that! I - I didn't know I could!"

"Uh … hmm … well, let's find out if Luffy made one automatically." Typing on a few keys, the screen changed, and he grinned, "There, you see? Last Thursday!"

She started to smile before she blinked in surprise, and she shifted over onto Luffy's other side so she could see the date, "But … Thursday?"

"Yeah! There's only a couple of days missing."

"No, you don't understand …" she said, looking up at Luffy's face. "I got him on Friday."

Franky hesitated before he said, "This is the only entry. I don't know what will happen if you just start him normally. He might not be there anymore. This must be his back up - his factory setting configuration."

"But … it won't be Luffy anymore …" She drooped, looking down at his prone body.

"I know I said he's just an android …" She winced, looking up at Usopp, hands on his hips, and he said, "but he's just dead if you don't do this."

Nami looked over at his dead, glowing eyes before she scooted over to kiss his forehead, "I'm so sorry. You … might not be the same anymore so I'll have to reset you. I never wanted to do it, so next time … next time, I promise this'll never happen to you again. You'll be safe … I promise." She looked over at Franky then, and nodded, "Do it."

Franky gave her a thumbs up before typing away.

Luffy's eyes began to glow green then, and she frowned softly in some confusion. Before, his eyes had started out glowing red and then turned green. Now she watched as his eyes faded into yellow, then orange, and then red. _Is it part of this process …? When it happened last time, it was because I made an emergency call._

She chewed her lip worriedly as his eyes stopped glowing, and he blinked a few times before his face screwed up as if the lights were too bright, and he shaded his eyes, "Mmh …?"

Starting to smile in spite of herself, Nami went to his side, and took his hand gently, "Luffy … let's start your set up, okay?"

He looked at her incomprehensibly before he nodded, "Oh, all right …"

She beamed brightly, becoming confidant, and she said, "Do you know who I am?"

"You're Nami," but then he frowned, turning fully to stare straight into her eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

Her eyes widened in alarm, "I'm Nami. You just said that."

"But …" he looked more than a little lost, touching his forehead, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do I know you?"

She looked at Franky and Usopp for help, but they looked as amazed and confused as she felt, "It's in your programming ... in your system. My scent, my face … my voice."

He nodded after a moment as if he was recalling the data, "Yeah, it is."

Smiling a bit more hopefully, Nami took his hand again gently, and he looked down at it, brow furrowing. She said, "Let's take you home, okay? We'll do set up there."

His brow furrowed, looking up at her before he said, "Aren't we home right now?"

"No, we're at a tournament. You were knocked out really bad …"

She grasped his hand to help him up to his feet, pushing his screen back in before shutting his chest plate while his eyes widened upon looking down. As she pressed his skin back into the X-shaped scar, Luffy slowly reached up to touch his chest, tracing the scar. Nami paused slightly, watching him look at his scar in wonderment.

"Did I get this in a fight …?"

She said, "Of course not. Androids don't get scarred …"

She looked down at his scar and then up at the one on his face, holding back her questions. _Was it a design choice? Was it mimicking something?_

Luffy nodded finally, and looked up at her, "All right, let's go home."

* * *

He looked lost, she finally decided.

As if he had woken from a long nap, and didn't remember that he had climbed into a tub to fall asleep in it.

There was something behind his glass eyes this time, however. They hadn't been empty before, however, before there hadn't been a spark of _something_. It wasn't life or intelligence exactly. In fact, whatever spark was in his eyes now almost scared her. This android wasn't her Luffy anymore. He was a stranger whom she had taken home.

After running through his set up, she sighed as she sat back in her chair, tilting her head as she watched him study the kitchen. He kept glancing at the fridge every once in awhile, and then would shake his head.

"Why were you sent here?"

"You're Nami."

She bit her lip before she asked, "How do you know that?"

"Your voice, your face, and your smell," he wasn't looking at her - the window was apparently more interesting at that point.

"_Why_ do you know that?"

"It was installed into me. You were my master until you changed your role to maintenance."

Nami nodded, "Yes, that's right."

"But … I think I'll keep you in the master role too for now."

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise at that, "You can decide something like that?"

"Yeah," Luffy got up to head to the fridge then before he stopped with a slight frown of confusion. "Since I didn't have a master for a while, I could pick one for myself."

"Luffy … why are you here?"

Blinking, he looked back at her, "You took me home."

"Yes, I know, but … I found you in that box - the one in the living room?" He nodded in understanding, and she said, "Why were you sent here?"

"I don't know," he put his hands on his hips, tilting his head at her. "Your guess is as good as mine."

She licked her lips before she asked, "Who sends fighting robots to unsuspecting women?"

He looked perplexed for a few seconds before he said, "Bored … people?"

Nami took a deep shaky breath before she said, "Luffy … scan for errors, okay? Anything - memory corruption or … anything."

His eyes narrowed at her, but said, "Scanning now … No errors found."

"What was that look for?"

"I'm not whoever you lost," he said bluntly. "I can't bring up lost memories like that - they got dumped when you picked this configuration."

"But you were … you've been answering my questions like he first did … minus all the pauses for your slow CPU."

Scowling, he shook his head, "Just because we have the same personality configurations doesn't mean we're the same android. Whatever you had isn't here anymore. I'm Luffy."

She bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth in thought before her brow furrowed slightly. Nami pursed her lips, and then she said, "I never registered your name …"

He sighed out a slight snort, "You didn't have to. That's my name."

"But I had to tell him - I had to register it as his name!"

"It's my name! It's got nothing to do with me!"

"Pull up your screen. I want to see it."

Sighing in annoyance, he took off his shirt, peeled back his scar, and opened his chest plate to pull up the monitor.

_Primary Master … Nami_

_Primary Maintenance … Nami_

_Primary Android … Luffy_

_OS Luffy 2.0_

She pointed, "You see? Luffy. I named you that."

"No, the only change I made was adding you as maintenance. You can even check my logs."

Opening her mouth to dispute it, Nami then slowly closed her mouth to stare.

_Primary Android … Luffy_

"Wait a minute. Android? Why did you change that?"

Luffy's face screwed up into confusion and more annoyance, putting his monitor away, and starting to close his chest, "I didn't change anything else, Nami. I just added you as maintenance, and then kept you in the master role."

"But it used to say you were my fighter!

"Good for him!" Turning on his heel, Luffy left the kitchen, and she got up quickly to go after him.

"Wait! It's not - I didn't mean to upset you!"

Whirling around, he crossed his arms, "Well, I don't like being told I'm lying when I'm not."

"It's just-"

"I'm sorry you lost your other android, but this is me now. The only change to that part has been adding you as maintenance. Nothing else."

She took a deep breath, "Great. Fine. But … here's the thing. When I first saw that screen, it called you a _slave_. I changed it to fighter. And you didn't have a name when you first started up."

His brow creased then, and he stared at her before he frowned, turning to look at the box she still had in the living room. Luffy said after a moment, "But I'm Luffy …"

* * *

_The tables thicken!_

_The plot has been turned!_

_AL is super duper tired, and trying to stay awake another forty five minutes! D:_


	4. 04

**Luffy**** 2.0**_**4**_

Nami tapped her stylus on the side of her tablet, looking down at her list in worry.

This Luffy knew as much about his situation as the first one had. Though he knew a few more interesting things. Luffy's role had been Android before he had been started. Sometime between Thursday, and the moment he had shown up at her door, his role had been changed to Slave.

She chewed her lip. _Forget __about __why __he __ended __up __on __my __door__. __What __happened __to __him__?_

"Nami, the fridge light turned off."

Sighing, she laid her face in her hands, "For the last time, it's supposed to when the door is shut."

"Well, I didn't shut it this time."

Twitching, she got up to head to the kitchen, and he followed after her, "What do you mean?"

He pointed at the open, dark fridge, "Well, I left it open to make sure it would stay on."

"You idiot! I told you to leave it alone! You don't know anything about household appliances."

Frowning, he hunched his shoulders, "Well, that's why I was-"

"No, you can't learn about them like that, and you know it. Now close the door. I'll have to go through it all to find what's spoiled later."

"Well, there's nothing else for me to do around here!" Nami's eyes widened slightly at the outburst, backing up as he stormed towards her, "You don't let me leave the house. I can't touch anything. All you tell me to do is to sit and wait, and I can't! It's boring!"

"Yeah, well, you can't _do_ anything, so the best thing you can do is nothing, so - so just - just go sit down over there!"

His eye twitched before he crossed his arms, "I can fight."

Stiffening, Nami snapped, "You will not! I'm looking for a job. Then, I can get you some programs so you can help around the house, but until then you are to do nothing."

"I don't care about any of that. I just want to fight!"

Turning away, Nami headed back to her office, "We're not having this discussion! After what happened to you last time, you're not going to the arena ever again."

"What's wrong with you? _He_ can be your fighter, but I can't? Just change my role to slave already! That's what you want!"

She halted in the hallway, staring into nothing, "That's not …"

"It's what you're going to make me. Doll me up as a housekeeper, and send me off to clean your clothes, your bathroom, tidy up the files or whatever! That's not what I was built for!"

She bit her lip, tearing up, but she said, not letting the tears be heard in her voice, "I can't let you fight."

"I don't need you to let me. I'm still registered, so I'm going by myself."

A few moments later, the front door opened, and then slammed shut. Nami covered her face, knees sinking to the floor as she began to sob. She didn't care if he could hear her - what would it even mean to him? He didn't seem to put any of her feelings into consideration. If he crashed again, would they call her? Would they just toss him in a junk pile if she wasn't there?

Didn't he know she just wanted him to be safe?

Gritting her teeth, she got up, and, wiping her tears away, she ran out of her house, and down the sidewalk.

* * *

"Oh! Oi, Luffy! Over here!"

Pausing near the entrance of the arena, Luffy turned around to stare at the strange cyborg who had repaired him a few days ago. Tilting his head, he processed on Franky's reasons for being there at the tournament before figuring that he probably hadn't spoken to Nami since he seemed so friendly. He began to smile, and walked over to him, waving in turn, "Hey!"

Franky grinned widely, coming over to slap his back, "I thought you'd never show up again! It's good to see you."

"Shishi, yeah, same here."

"What're you doing here? I thought you lost in the prelims."

"It takes two losses to disqualify an android. After the second loss, they say the android isn't fit enough for the tournament."

"Huh? But why would they make that kind of rule?"

Grinning, Luffy said, "They said that a lot of people come just to watch androids get smashed in the first rounds and prelims. It just means more sales for them. And more betting."

Franky stared at him for a few more seconds before he laughed, "Ooh, man, your CPU looks like it's running at peak efficiency! No more processing inquiries for you, huh?"

Taken a bit aback by this, he said, "I'm always processing inquires. Nami doesn't _stop _giving me inquiries!"

"Haha, nah, man, I meant _he _used to say that. 'Processing inquiries.' For the smallest question sometimes too. Kind of a riot. But you're breezing right through them."

Sighing, Luffy said, "I'm not him."

"I know. It's the same caboose though." Brow furrowing, Luffy listened as Franky said, "For most humans, that's proof that you're the same guy. I've dealt with enough androids to know though … Nami not taking it well?"

Processing that, Luffy recalled the memory of leaving Nami crying in the hallway, and he said, "No."

"Sorry to hear that, but at least you got to come here."

"Yeah …"

They both looked over into the arena as a bolt of electricity arched into the air, and Franky said, "If all goes well, I'll take you out, okay? We'll go have some fun."

Smiling again, Luffy nodded, "Sounds good."

"This is the third match of the day in the Super Heavyweight prelims! This is Luffy's second return to the preliminaries! Last time, he faced newcomer android, Eneru, where he somehow withstood several electrical attacks! Let's hope that this time he lasts longer! And in the other corner, we have - oh, no! It looks like Luffy might be checking out again this time! This is last year's champion, the mighty! The magnificent! The splendid! The incredible! That android murdering cyborg! Here he is, ladies and gentlemen! Krieg!"

The roar that ripped through the arena made Luffy blink rapidly, looking around in confusion before he shrugged, and went back through the process of checking all of his joints. It created a strange crackling and snapping sound as it traveled from his spinal joints, and outward to his toes, the tips of his fingers and his skull plates..

Across from him, the cyborg known as Krieg began to head for him, pulling a spear from his back. Cackling, the cyborg slammed it against the ground, creating a mini explosion as electricity arched from it.

"You'll be obsolete by the end of this! You won't bounce back from this! I'll make sure of it! That amateur Eneru shouldn't have left you in one piece to get killed by me. Don't worry though, I'll avenge you by killing him next!"

"The champ delivers an electrifying threat! How can Luffy escape this one!?"

Luffy put eighty percent of his power into Nami's program, and let Krieg charge, and strike him with the spear.

_5,000 __volts_

Unmoved, Luffy said, "Could you turn the voltage up to its highest setting? I'm running some tests here."

The commentator was silent for the longest time while the crowd just roared, "The … the mighty spear of Krieg does nothing! Not even his mighty blow moved Luffy!"

Krieg snapped out of his stupor once he heard the commentator, and he snarled, "If that's your death wish, I'll grant it!" He struck again - harder than last time as well, though Luffy still didn't budge.

_20,000 __volts_

Luffy grinned as the audience began to go quiet, and he said, "Thanks. Looks like eighty percent is more than enough, so I'll turn it down. Go ahead and try again."

_Would __you __like __to __see __past __records__?_

_Yes __No_

His lips parted, considering the program's sudden inquiry, and he quickly responded while Krieg's eyes widened in shock.

_XXXX__/__XX__/__XX __Wednesday__ [20:06:10:89] : 20,000 __volts__ 02% __leakage__ 05% __power_

_XXXX__/__XX__/__XX __Wednesday__ [20:06:58:65] : 50,000 __volts__ 04% __leakage__ 05% __power_

_XXXX__/__XX__/__XX __Wednesday__ [20:07:35:53] : 50,000 __volts__ 05% __leakage__ 05% __power_

_XXXX__/__XX__/__XX __Wednesday__ [20:09:01:26] : 100,000 __volts__ 16% __leakage__ 05% __power_

_XXXX__/__XX__/__XX __Wednesday__ [20:09:07:44] : 100,000 __volts__ 68% __leakage__ 05% __power_

Luffy's eyes narrowed, processing the information even as Krieg charged to strike again while Nami's program was at sixty percent.

_20,000 __volts_

Between the third and fourth instances, there was a considerable gap. Since he hadn't been able to rely on Nami's accounts of how many times Eneru's attack had struck him, he reasoned that these must have been the attacks. Why had there been such a long gap? It nearly stretched one and a half minutes.

"Do it again, I'll try it at a lower percentage," he dropped as far as twenty percent then, trusting Nami's program.

"Is - are Luffy's circuits stunned!? He's not budged an inch since the match started!"

Shifting to scowl at the commentator who eeped through the microphone, Luffy shouted, "Oi! Shut up! I'm running tests! You're annoying!"

"He's unaffected!"

"Shut up!"

"And he's rude too!"

Luffy took the next hit with fifteen percent power in Nami's program.

_20,000 __volts_

Before Krieg could pull back the spear, Luffy grabbed it, and yanked him closer to punch him in the gut. There was a loud clanging sound, and he blinked in surprise. He had struck with more power than humans could handle, and Krieg didn't seem affected at all.

"Hah! My diamonite plated armor is the strongest military grade armor money can buy! If I can't jolt your circuits, I'll just tear you apart!"

Frowning, Luffy tore the spear out of his hands, and put twenty percent power into his Caoutchouc program.

"Wha-? Oi, what're you-!?"

_Pugilism_

_power__: 30% 60%_

_agility__: 40% 30%_

_defense__: 30% 10%_

Kicking Krieg back, he stretched his arms to punch him rapidly, the commenter saying, "He's - he's growing arms!? Or is he just moving so fast, it looks like he is!?"

Feeling the armor crack under his fists, Luffy extended his arms far behind himself, and stepped in closer.

"It looks like - like a-!"

Bringing his fists straight into the crack in Krieg's armored body, it shattered, sending Krieg rolling about in the dirt, and then crashing into the arena wall.

The audience rose up in cheers around him, "A cannon! Luffy has blown him away with a cannon, ladies and gentlemen! Krieg is down! Life detection systems say he's passed out! Krieg, the last reigning champ, is down! Luffy wins in the preliminaries! Luffy will be going into the first round!"

"Luffy ..."

Eyes widening, he looked straight at her up in the audience - there were tears in her eyes, but she was smiling.

Sighing, he turned away, heading for the exit.

As he came out, he hurriedly searched for Franky, analyzing faces as quickly as he could before he grinned, and waved, "Franky! Oi!"

"Super! I was cheering for you, man! I almost didn't believe it! Beating the champ in the preliminaries! And after you got beat - that makes Eneru really look like a god now. Your opponents better be shaking in their boots."

Grinning wider, Luffy said, "So, where are we going?"

"Just a place down the road. Where's Nami?"

Luffy slowly lost his smile, "Ah, she won't be coming. She's uh …" he pursed his lips, and made a face as he tried to think of something to say that wasn't exactly a lie - he wasn't proficient at creating such an error in his own memory. "She'll be … getting the money."

Eyes wide, Franky said after a moment, "Did you just lie?"

"Well, no, not really. I can't do that. But - but she really is getting the money! Just … probably not right now - maybe she gets it in the mail ... I never asked how that works."

"Luffy, did you come here by yourself?"

Working his mouth while processing on an answer that wasn't exactly a lie again - it was still rather difficult - he then said instead, "She didn't want me to fight. She kept talking about him, and about making me install housekeeping programs, and ... I don't want to learn that stuff. I can fight!"

Franky pursed his lips before he said, "Well, you can cool down while we're out. She can't get mad about that."

Luffy smiled, and nodded after a moment, "Yeah. It's just friends hanging out."

Seemingly surprised by something, he began to smile in return, "I know just the place too. Some buddies of mine should be there about now."

* * *

As he entered the bar, Luffy scanned the area before following after Franky with a grin, "This place looks fun."

"Can you even drink anything?"

"No, I don't think so. I don't think there's anywhere for it to go anyway."

"Oi, Franky!"

Luffy followed the cyborg to two men sitting at the bar - one with blond hair and the other with green. The green haired man grinned, "About damn time. Did those androids give you trouble?"

"Nah, I was just waiting for a friend to finish up," Franky said.

"Heeh? You're competing in the tournament too?" The blonde raised his brow, "I'm Sanji. The idiot over here is Zoro."

Luffy looked back and forth between them before he nodded, and waved a bit, smiling, "I'm Luffy."

"Who're you calling an idiot, target?"

"Target!?"

"Yeah, making me aim somewhere, target?"

Starting to sputter in anger, Sanji slowly rose, "I oughta-"

"Should pin you to the wall, so we can use that dartboard," Zoro said, looking around the bar as if for a clear spot.

"Oi, oi, you can pin other guys against the wall! I'm for ladies only!"

Franky grinned as he sat down, and Luffy followed suit as he watched the two bicker, "Shishi!"

"Eh? Ahaha, don't mind cactus breath here-"

"What, when did you sniff it?"

Sanji shoved his hand into Zoro's face, "We're always fighting."

Luffy snickered, "Nah, it's fine. I think it's funny."

The other man grimaced, "He always starts it."

"About time to end it!"

* * *

Hours later with the two carefully not talking as much as possible, Sanji perked at the sight of a woman with black hair in the bar.

"What a woman."

"Hm?" Luffy turned to look over, tilting his head a bit.

"Wowza!" Franky tilted his sunglasses down to see her better, "Don't get no better than that."

As she walked by, Luffy's eyes widened as she winked at him, "Hmm."

"Hmm, what? She's winking at us. We should go after her!"

Luffy looked at Franky with a frown, "She was at the tournament."

Hesitating, Franky watched her leave with a slightly pained expression - like regret - before he began to frown in thought. Sanji glanced at the two of them, "What? Is she a gynoid?"

"Yeah," he said, pulling up the memory of the list of contestants and the order in which the androids and gynoids had lined up. "Robin, the gynoid. She was in a fight before me." He kept watching Franky closely, "I didn't get to see her fight, but she looks really well built."

Franky said after a moment, "I remember now. They didn't know her manufacturer or her specs."

"Sounds like black market to me," Zoro said, and the two gave him their attention. "I hear a lot of androids are popping up like that. So real you can't hardly tell anymore if they're human or not."

Sanji grinned, "I've heard stories about those for years. Everyone's heard them. Like women dating the perfect guy only to find out his parts are interchangeable. And I ain't talking some cyborg without any confidence. A real walking, talking dildo. It's not real though - they can't get the emotions or expressions or whatever right. You can always tell when you're talking to an android."

"It's the RAM," Franky said, "never enough of it to emulate humans."

Luffy pursed his lips while he processed that, "I guess you're right. Never thought of it like that, but most of the androids there moved pretty jerkily. I tried talking to some too, but it felt weird."

Franky grinned, and nudged him with a snigger, "Did you try talking to Robin?"

"Huh? No …"

Sighing in despair, Sanji said, slumping in the bar stool, "It's just not fair. All the beautiful women either are gynoids or they're ignoring me."

Luffy asked, "Hey, Zoro, what did you mean about black market?"

"Hm?" Pausing mid-drink, he said, "Just that. I've been hearing talk about some super special android."

He and Franky glanced at each other, and Luffy said, "What kind of android?"

"Not just one of the age old can't-tell-it's-not-human androids. It's ... it can reproduce, I hear. Grow and learn too."

Sanji raised his brow, "You've gotta be joking. Now that really is a rumor."

"You've heard something too?" Luffy grinned, turning to him.

"It's just something they're throwing around in the underground. Who knows why though - maybe just cover-up for something else," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette before he wilted at the sight of something, and grew doe-eyed, "Please, don't deceive me, mademoiselle. Please, be real."

"Luffy …"

Eyes widening, Luffy spun around in his bar stool to face her, "Nami!"

"I … listen, I …" she started to flush hot red, glancing at the men behind him before pulling him away a bit so they couldn't eavesdrop. "I wanted to apologize."

"You see me win, so now you apologize?" She suddenly wrapped her arms around him, and he gaped in surprise, leaning back just slightly, "Uh …"

"I'm so sorry," she whispered into his chest, and he could smell the tears this time, "I was just so scared."

Cracking under the pressure, he stopped leaning away, and embraced her in turn, "I know … I'm sorry too."

"I lost him. I just don't want to lose you too."

Grinning, he said, "It worked though. Like a charm. You don't have to worry about _my_ memory getting wiped."

Nami slowly smiled back, and he reached up to wipe her tears away.

* * *

_Miss __Suzie __had __a __steamboat__, __the __steamboat __had __a __bell__, __ding __ding__! __Miss __Suzie __went __to __heaven__, __the __steamboat __went __to __hello__, __operator__, __please __give __me __number__ 9, __and __if __you __disconnect __me__, __I__'__ll __kick __you __from __behind __the __fridgerator __there __was __a __piece __of __glass__. __Miss __Suzie __sat __upon __it __and __broke __her __little __ask __me __no __more __questions__. __Tell __me __no __more __lies__. __The __boys __are __in __the __bathroom __zipping __up __their __flies __are __in __the __meadow__, __the __bees __are __in __the __park__. __Miss __Suzie __and __her __boyfriend __are __kissing __in __the __D __A __R __K __D __A __R __K __D __A __R __K __dark__. __Darker __than __the __why __are __you __still __reading __this__?_


	5. 05

**Luffy 2.0**_**5**_

Someone knocked on the door, and Luffy blinked, staring at it. It knocked again, and Luffy looked at Nami and then back at the door.

She frowned, "Well? Answer it."

Confused, Luffy went over to the door, and knocked on it himself, "There."

"Not like that! Open the door!"

"Luffy? Is that you?" Came the muffled voice of Franky, and Luffy flushed in embarrassment as he quickly opened the door.

"Sorry about that."

Laughing, he said, "That's fine. I figured it was you."

"Luffy, you have to open the door to answer it when someone's knocking, okay?"

"Right!" He grinned, giving her a thumbs up.

Nami gave her attention to Franky then, tilting her head, "What brings you here?"

"I figured it was safer talking here rather than over the phone," Franky said, crossing his giant arms.

Nami's brow furrowed, and she slowly sat down, "What's wrong?"

"You remember that talk about a new kind of android?" Franky was looking at Luffy then, and after a moment, he nodded in response when he realized the inquiry was for him. "I talked to them about it more, and … well, I thought the both of you should know. Because of your circumstances and all."

Nami glanced between the two, "Know what? What android?"

"On the black market, there's talk about an android that can reproduce," Franky looked at Luffy.

She scoffed, "That's impossible. No one has that kind of technology yet."

"You think the black market can't get a hold of the technology for a reproducing android?"

Nami looked like she couldn't decide between paling and becoming hot red, glancing at Luffy, "But that's impossible … reproduce? You think he can …?"

He frowned, turning to her, "You're living with this guy. An android that's this real - this _human_. He showed up out of the blue, and you're gonna deny black market involvement?"

"But why should I suspect any!? I've never even dealt with them before!" She straightened then, settling on bright red, "Who the hell sent me an android that can have sex!? Can he - does he …?" She whispered to Franky, but Luffy heard her quite clearly anyway - she must have forgotten he could hear her, "Does he have … those parts?"

"Yup," when she turned to gape at him, Luffy pouted. "Why'd you ask him? I'm right here."

"That's crazy! Are they trying to mate us!? I wouldn't even think of it!" She pointed at Luffy accusingly, "You knew all along, didn't you!?"

"Of course, I did. I'm programmed to know about all internal and external parts."

"I'm not talking about your parts!"

Franky held up his hands defensively, "Now back up a step, gal. Calm down. The rumors are all different anyway - they don't say whether or not it can reproduce with humans too."

Nami tapped her lips - still red, but slowly calming down - "If he can reproduce with humans ... he'd have ... well, DNA of some kind."

"He'd need it for reproducing with gynoids too," Franky said. "Artificially manufactured traits that both parents could pass on to their descendents. It wouldn't really be reproducing if it was something else."

Luffy mused, "So I'd be incompatible with a gynoid who can't reproduce?"

She perked, "That's right! She would have to have her own DNA too, otherwise, she's just a …" Then Nami frowned, "A gynoid like that would definitely be black market. Androids with those … features are outlawed. They stopped making them before I was even born."

"So I'm illegal?"

Nami snapped, "You're highly illegal!"

Luffy frowned softly, "I guess that's why Sanji was so upset about the gynoid …"

"He's not very fond of most humanoid robots - thinks they should all be androgynoids," Franky snickered while Nami sighed in frustration. "He's asked one too many gynoids out by mistake when he didn't talk to them first."

Grinning, Luffy said, "Sounds like he wants some illegal parts."

"Okay, so … so maybe he can reproduce … we - we just have to really keep quiet about it," Nami said.

"Huh? Why?" Luffy asked.

"Because you're illegal! If my emergency call hadn't been rerouted, you'd have been carted off and disassembled! I told you already. You're not going to be taken away from me!" She sighed heavily, bowing her head into her hands, "What are we going to do now?"

Luffy became confused, "What do you mean? We're going to find out where I came from. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Looking surprised, she leveled her eyes with his, staring, "But I could lose you … If word gets out, you'll be dismantled! Whether you can reproduce or not, you still have the - the parts.."

He shrugged, and said, "I want to know where I came from too."

"And why you came to me," she murmured.

"Yeah," Luffy beamed, "you see? It'll be fun, Nami!"

She struggled with herself visibly before she frowned at him, "It's dangerous. You do understand the meaning of the word, right? Dangerous." Reaching over, he grabbed her cheeks to pinch and pull them tightly, frowning at her, "Ow!"

"Quit it! I've made up my mind. I thought you did too, Nami."

Behind him, Franky added, "Besides, what if it's more dangerous not knowing?"

Yanking his hands off of her cheeks, she scowled at the lot of them before she said, "I do want to know, but … Luffy, if you ever find yourself thinking you might get dismantled, I want you to get out of there."

"There where?" He frowned.

"I don't know! Just - just if you think you're in danger, okay?" Luffy raised an eyebrow, considering her and her worried face. After a moment, he decided, and pulled her up against his chest. She stiffened in shock against him until he wrapped his arms around her, "Luffy …? What're you …?"

He squeezed her slightly, "I thought you liked this. It made you feel better yesterday."

After a moment, her arms gradually coiled around him as well.

* * *

He wasn't any different after she found out he might be able to reproduce. It was just her imagination. She couldn't, however, stop thinking about how he might suddenly decide to test out his new found features, no matter what she said. He knew so much about her - had he been built for her specifically? Luffy knew her face, her voice, her scent …

"_Oh, Nami, you're ovulating. Let me help you with that …"_

She burst into a dark shade of red, pulling her blankets up over her head, and curling into a tight ball.

_He smiled, and crawled towards her, "It'd be a shame if that little bit of DNA went unfertilized."_

Groaning, she rolled over, knotting the blankets around herself carelessly as if they might protect her more efficiently. She wondered if she would need more blankets to mask any smell of arousal - she didn't want to give him any ideas, after all.

"_Let me add a few features for you …"_

She squeezed her eyes shut as if to stop the images coursing through her head. Things like this - a relationship with an android - just wouldn't work.

"_Ooh, wow, this is _nice_ … and now to adjust my features to their maximum setting … Aaah, there, you see? You like that a lot, don't you?"_

She swallowed hard.

"_Nami …"_

_What is wrong with that idiot Franky? I really didn't need to know! It just makes everything worse …_

"Nami?"

Gasping, she sat up, blushing darker when she saw him in the dark - a gentle moonbeam touching his face. She piped out, barely keeping it from being a squeak, "It's illegal to be in here!"

His eyes widened before his head leaned to the side in confusion, "Uh huh …"

Covering her face and hot flush, she said, "Don't smell me, please …"

"Um, I can't stop that, Nami," he said. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "Nothing. Don't smell me!"

"Never mind your scent!"

She peeked out from between her fingers, "Why are you here then?"

"I could hear your heart." Her eyes widened, and her already thudding heart seemed to beat twice as loud for a few beats, "It's pounding like crazy. Are you okay?" He frowned then as if annoyed, "Or was it just a nightmare?"

Starting to smile, she relaxed a bit, letting her hands fall, "Kind of … sorry."

He grinned broadly, "Oh, good."

After a moment, Nami said, "About yesterday …"

"Hm?"

"Do you … _think_ about reproducing?"

Luffy scratched his chin, studying her, "I hadn't before he mentioned it."

Flushing, she stammered, "Oh - well - that's just-! I mean, it just - he surprised us both so suddenly, and, I-"

"Is it really bad to have sex with a human?"

She blushed hotter, trying to reason with herself that he wasn't referring to herself in particular, "It's not that exactly. It's ... the law is to protect androids."

He crossed his arms, his whole body leaning back. Nami wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, but he seemed to be processing something.

Suddenly, he said, "Why?"

Nami blinked in surprise, her heart continuing to beat, "Be - because. It's so humans can't order androids to have sex."

"But what if they want to?"

Beginning to relax, she said, feeling better by explaining why it wouldn't work aloud, "That's the thing. Most androids don't want things, but for the ones that can, the fear is that they could just be reprogrammed to want to have sex."

He frowned, "But what about the ones that weren't?"

"What if they were ordered?"

He pressed her back against her bed, and she squeaked. Luffy loomed over her, a soft shadow in the moonlight, and he leaned down over her. He was hot, she realized. The circuitry and metal under his artificial skin warmed his entire body. In the cool air, he felt like a furnace. Luffy leaned in inches from her face, "Order me then."

Her face exploded into color. Nami stared up at him as her mind whirled in circles. There - that close - with his face leaning in, and above her, she trembled. _Doesn't he know he could just do it now, and I might just give in? Can't he tell? _She could barely even begin to think it - if Luffy simply took her now, however, she was quite certain she would cave. Slowly, reluctantly, she said, "I can't … I couldn't …"

He stood up then as if he hadn't cared either way, and he stretched out, "Well, can't test it out then if you don't order me."

Eyes widening, she sat up, snapping, "How could I just make you though!? You're an android, and …"

Luffy seemed surprised momentarily, and he said, "You couldn't do it because I'm an android?"

"I - well, you are, so it's different anyway."

With a frown, Luffy said, "What, if I was a real man, you'd order me then? How's that any different from ordering me now? Just because I'm not flesh? You could order a guy like Sanji to have sex with you, and he'd come running. Why is it different with me?"

Nami cringed, squeezing her eyes shut, and shaking her head, "I can't …"

He was quiet before suddenly she felt his hand on her shoulder, and the bed dipped a bit next to her. When she opened her eyes, he was sitting beside her, "I'm sorry … I get you mad a lot, huh?"

"Because I worry … I _care_, Luffy, and …" she hesitated, eyes darting up to his face before dropping them.

His hand caught her chin, tilting it up so she'd look into his eyes, "I know you do."

"Do you?" She whispered.

"I care about you too."

Flushing pink, she chewed her lips as she stared into his eyes, and shuddered. Nami closed her eyes, trying to shake her head again, "We can't-"

He caught her lips, and the first thought that she had - after what seemed like a long time - was that they were warm.

* * *

_I've hidden a hint somewhere in this chapter that hints at future events. It's very tiny. Try to find it and tell me what it is - I've lost it._


	6. 06

**Luffy**** 2.0**_**6**_

She fell asleep leaned against him not more than a half hour later, and he looked over her sleeping form. Luffy had processed all reasons why he had first kissed her, but for one conclusion or another, he didn't think that even one reason he had was good enough. That she was soft was a given _now_, but why had he wanted to test that theory by touching everything he could reach?

Her features pleased and warmed his circuits in ways he still didn't quite comprehend. Her smile was pure joy - after making her cry he wanted to ensure it never happened again. Was just feeling that he liked her enough? Was just telling her that enough? And didn't every man want to-

His internal inquiry stopped at that point, and he frowned to himself. _I__'__m __not __a __man__ ... __it__'__s __illegal __for __us __to __be __together __like __this__. __How __did __I __bypass __that __law__? __I __couldn__'__t __be__ ..._

He sat up carefully, watching her so that she wouldn't awaken.

When Luffy had first awoken in that locker room, everything had felt so strange, but the moment he had heard her voice, things had begun to click into place. Things that had blocked off ...

He held his chest with a slight wince - his CPU was growing hot. Luffy hoped it was the other Luffy. That would be logical.

The other thing - it was possibly an error.

He heard a crash from the living room, and he frowned softly before getting up. Going down the hall, he frowned when he saw a shadowed figure head down the hall. He said, "Oi, get out."

"I wanted to talk to you," said a feminine voice. She came forward enough that he could finally see her features, and he recognized the gynoid from the bar.

"Robin ..."

"I was surprised to see you, Luffy."

He blinked at the familiarity in her voice, she certainly didn't seem to be a gynoid, but he still had in his memory of what the commentator had called her, "You were?"

"Of course. You were the last person I'd expect to change his mind. You Ds are always so unpredictable though."

_Ds__?_ Eyes narrowing, he looked her over before he said, "What did you want to talk about?"

She smiled, "Well, not talk. Just confirming that you didn't find it."

"No, I haven't," he said, still utterly confused, but what he said was truth enough even not knowing of what she spoke. "You neither?"

She giggled - a pleasingly low sound, "Mmhmhm, would I be here asking you if I had?" Her eyes saddened slowly, "We only have so many clues to go by, and I'm just a theory still." She sighed, closing her eyes, "You cyborgs are so lucky."

His eyes widened before he could try schooling the shock away, and before she could open her eyes, he tried to mask the surprise for something else, "The - theory? I don't think so, Robin! Why would you say that?" _Cyborg__ ... __cyborg__!?_

She blinked, looking at him before her smile returned, gentle and soft, "You're sweet to think so." Robin winked, "But don't think you'll win me over like that. It wouldn't work between us."

"Ah, right ..." he grimaced slightly, just more confused than he had been.

"I'll let you go, Luffy. We should meet again soon to compare notes. Maybe where we first met, hm?"

He swallowed hard, "All right ... where was that again?"

"You remember, in the ..." she frowned just slightly then, "Luffy, why are you in position to defend yourself?" Luffy hadn't even realized that he had done it, and he wasn't about to stop now that she was suspicious. After a moment, she backed away, smiling, "I see. You really did change then."

She glanced behind him down the hall where Nami slept, and his hackles rose before he charged at her - full force. They crashed and skidded through Nami's living room, slamming aside the couch and coffee table before Luffy could get a proper hold of the gynoid. Robin's eyes widened just before he brought his head crashing down against hers.

Something grabbed him from behind, and yanked him off. Yelping, Luffy braced himself to hit the wall, and sprang back to his feet quickly.

"Stay away from her!"

She perked her eyebrow up, smiling slowly, "I was just looking."

Luffy tensed, "Get out."

"Were you having some fun before I interrupted you? Be careful, I don't know if you're compatible with humans anymore."

His brow creased in confusion before he shook his head, "Guess you don't know everything about me then."

She hesitated, seeming to process that before suddenly arms bloomed from her elbows, and she said, "We'll see about that. I'll have to take you in for study."

She rushed at him then, and he grasped her normal hands, pressing back as he struggled to keep from getting grabbed by too many of her extra ones. Almost instantly, the empty hands sprouted more arms that wrapped around him. As they constricted, he scowled, and flung his head back to let his neck stretch.

_Pugilism_

_power__: 70% 90%_

_agility__: 20% 10%_

_defense__: 10% 00%_

It snapped back hard.

He heard something warp and bend when his head made contact, and her grip loosened enough for him to tear several of her extra arms off. Enough to allow him to break loose from her. She stumbled back, holding her head as she shed the extra arms.

She gaped at him in shock and pain, her hand partly covering a severely indented forehead, "What are you made of? There's nothing even left of him anymore, is there? What happened to Luffy?"

"Get out."

Robin hesitated only a moment before she turned to run.

Behind him, after Robin had left, he heard Nami inch down the hallway, "Luffy?"

Looking back at her, she looked both frightened and angry somehow, wide eyes taking in her living room. He bit his lip before heading for her, "I'm sorry. Some gynoid broke in, and I got angry ..."

She tackled him, and he took it for her anger, so he didn't resist. However, it soon became apparent to him that she was embracing him, "Are you all right?"

Smiling, he wrapped his arms around her, "I'm fine, Nami."

Nami frowned up at him, "I don't like people breaking into my house. How'd she find out where you live? Was it some GPS bug?"

Luffy scowled at that thought, and immediately ran systems, programs and devices checks. He said, "If they did, you'll have to do a visual check. I found nothing." He opened up his shirt to get to his motherboard.

Her cheeks flushed red - not too long ago, perhaps she hd been thinking of striping him for other reasons, but his expression seemed to sober her. She started searching through his chest.

He fidgeted with one of the chest flaps, still watching Nami before he caved. For the briefest of milliseconds, Luffy had considered not telling her about the conversation he had had with Robin - it felt hard keeping secrets though, and making up information was so strange, "She seemed to know me - even my name. She called me a D, and she implied I was a cyborg."

"You don't need to be one!" Luffy jerked back slightly from her outburst. Eys wide in alarm, she had grabbed his shoulders, "I don't care about that! You're fine the way you are!"

Starting to grin, he said, "But I wanna know."

"Luffy, I thought you wanted to know where you came from."

"But maybe that's why I'm here with you! And if it is, I can get it out of the way, so we ..."

Her smile began to return, and she looked through his motherboard before she shook her head, "Well, there's nothing new connected to you."

He cocked his head to the side, "For a moment there, I thought you were gonna kiss me."

Flushing hot red, she pulled away from Luffy quickly, "What? No, I wouldn't ...!"

Pouting at that, Luffy said, "You wouldn't do it here?"

She flushed hotly, glancing out the window where the sun was starting to illuminate the world outside, "I told you it's illegal! I don't want it getting out, or we'll be in more trouble than just entering you into this tournament!"

He stared at her while processing the new information, "So illegal activities ... can be done ... so long as it's in a secret place? That's why this tournament's underground?"

Groaning, she covered her face, hanging her head, "Yes, Luffy."

"So if I want to have sex wi-"

"Yes. Luffy."

He blinked, "How did you know what I was going to ask? I didn't even finish my inquiry."

"Just trust me. I know what you were going to ask me." Taking a deep breath, she said, "More importantly, you said she called you a D?"

"Yeah," said Luffy, and he straightened the couch back upright, pulling Nami down to sit beside him.

"That would certainly be big ... Ds are the group that came out of nowhere and changed android and cyborg technology in an instant. Then they suddenly said they were done making new renovations twenty-four years ago. Technology still hasn't progressed much further with androids since."

Brow furrowing, Luffy shook his head, "What does that mean though?"

She pursed her lips, "Well, now that I have more than just your name, maybe I can search for you. Maybe she just meant you're D-built."

Luffy shook his head, not sure he trusted that information, "I don't know ..."

Getting up, she glanced out the window to check for people before kissing his forehead, and going down the hallway. With a sigh, Luffy rose to follow after her slowly, scratching his head, "Would it really be that easy to find something online?"

"The Ds are famous, Luffy. The media tries to follow them like they're celebrities. I'd be surprised if we didn't find some kind of hint. Maybe you're some kind of new project of theirs."

She pulled out her tablet, and searched by typing in 'Ds Luffy'. He glanced outside where the sun was rising through the trees.

When he looked back, he froze.

There were three faces. His was smiling brightly in the center, framed by the other two - both of which were equally happy looking. Luffy didn't recognize either of them, but his arms were around both of their shoulders as if they were lifting him up slightly. Like they were all familiar with each other.

_**D **__**Loses **__**Life **__**in **__**Sailing **__**Trip**_

Luffy was dimly aware that she was talking - to him, maybe.

He scanned what he could of the article:

_Monkey __D__. __Luffy __would __have __turned__ 18 __years __old __today __if __he __hadn__'__t __gone __sailing __with __his __two __best __friends__. __At__ 6 __pm__, __witnesses __say __a __huge __wave __overturned __the __sail boat __before __it __then __crashed __into __the __rocks__._

_Attempts __to __help __were __compounded __by __quickly __rising __tides__, __but __by __the time they reached him, it was already too late__._

_Monkey __D__. __Luffy __was __bed ridden __most __of __his __young __life __until __his __father__, __Monkey __D__. __Dragon__, __and __grandfather__, __Monkey __D__. __Garp__, __fitted __him __with __cyborg __enhancements when he became of age__. __He __thrived __in __his __high__school__'__s __cyborg __boxing __league__, __and __was __active __in __many __other __sports __activities__. __His __friends __say __he __was __planning __on __competing __professionally__._

"_You__'__d __never __think __he __was __ever_

Nami stepped into his line of sight, and he blinked when she held his cheeks gently, "Luffy!"

He blinked again, not quite understanding before he shook his head, and pulled away, "Hey, I was reading that, Nami."

She didn't move out of his way, but she smiled in relief, "Please, don't space out like that again. I thought ..." Kissing him suddenly, she shocked him a bit before he responded in kind.

When he broke off the kiss to let her breathe normally, he said, "Nami, I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere."

"Damn straight, you aren't! What gave you the idea you were going somewhere on your own?"

He gaped at her before bursting out in laughter.

"Eh! Ah ... stop that! Stop laughing at me!" She flushed red while he snickered.

"Did you wanna come with me then?"

Nami pouted at him, "Well, I don't think they'd like a sudden dinner guest ... not the Monkey D. family anyway." She closed the article before he could read anymore, "It looks like he was friends with one of the Portgas D. family, so not them either. Not that I know where they live." After a moment, Nami said, "I know where Gol D. Roger lives though."

"Eh!? Really?"

"I had to go there once to help with a weather system he was working on ... or ... rather he told me to stand in the corner and watch him. It's just that legally, he couldn't do anything without me there." She grimaced, "The old man just kept hitting on me, honestly."

"All right, then we'll go see him, and kick his ass!"

Eyes widening, she snapped, "Luffy! You can't do that! I thought you wanted to ask him what he knew."

"Ah, well, I ..." he frowned in confusion himself. "It was just the first thing I thought of when you said that. I don't want another guy kissing you."

Smiling after a moment, Nami said, "He wasn't doing that. I wouldn't let him anyway."

* * *

"Oooh! Nami-chan! Come in! Come in! Idiots, open the gates!"

She glanced at Luffy in surprise, "I didn't think he'd remember me."

Luffy muttered a bit sullenly at that, frowning as the gates swung open. He didn't seem at all pleased that Roger was acting so friendly towards her. It made her smile, honestly. A man made of wires and steel being ... instinctive perhaps? Some program that made him that way? Whatever the case, it made her a little happy - she couldn't explain it very well herself.

Luffy was jealous.

Roger waved them on from the vid screen, "Go on ahead, Nami-chan, I'll meet you at the front door."

Behind her, Luffy grumbled something inaudible, and she smiled.

At the front door, she turned to him, and said when she saw his sour expression, "Honestly, what are you so worried about?"

"He keeps hitting on you, and I'll knock his head off."

Finally frowning, she hissed at him, "Don't you dare! I don't care what he says, Luffy. Don't you dare." Thinking about it for half a second, she said, "Unless he does something other than talking."

Luffy relaxed, but he looked up at the big mansion before facing her again with a softer frown, "But he's got this big ol' house."

Nami's eyes widened before she burst out laughing, "You ...! You think I'd leave you for another man because he has a mansion?" When he eyed her somewhat nervously - maybe thinking that the question could posibly be rhetorical, or just unable to process an answer - she said, "I have a house. I bought it myself. I don't need to cling to some guy to keep it or keep living in it. If anyone should be worrying, it's you. You're living with me just doing whatever you like. Like a trophy wife or something."

He tilted his head in confusion, and someone behind her said, "Oooh! Brought your boyfriend, eh?"

Flushing straight to her roots, she spun around, "Roger-san! I - I'm sorry, I didn't notice you there!"

He grinned down at her, "It's nothing, come on in."

Taking a deep breath, she followed him, glancng back at Luffy who still followed with that confused look on his face. What she had said hadn't hurt him apparently, but she was worried that perhaps he was advanced enough to hide it.

Roger invited them to his living room where she sat down a bit tentatively on the luxurious sofa with Luffy. Almost immediately, he asked, "So what is it you want to know?"

Jerking in shock, Nami only stared as Luffy leaned forward intensely, "What do you know about me?"

"Hm?" Roger looked at him, and started laughing, hitting his armrest, "You come here to me, not knowing anything, and you expect answers!?"

"He ended up on my doorstep, and his registry was tampered with," Nami said quickly, flushing in embarrassment. Were they missing some other piece of this puzzle? Why was he laughing?

Roger chuckled still, scratching his chin as he leaned back into his chair, "Hmmm, that so?"

"So you know something?" Luffy said.

He frowned at him before he snorted, "And if I did?"

"Tell me!"

"Like I'd tell a brat ordering me around like that!"

"Me and Nami want to know!"

By this point the two were up on their feet, nearly in the other's face.

"Nami-chan can speak for herself!"

"Stop calling her that - she doesn't like it!"

"She's got her own voice, boy!"

"Yeah, she told me that herself, old man!"

"'O - old'!? Rouge-chan, he called me old. Am I so old now? Nami-chan, I'm not old, am I?"

Before she could even think about responding, Luffy's fist met Roger's face, and she gaped as he slid to hit the wall.

"Luffy!" Standing to get between them, she started out snapping it before trailing off in confusion, "How could you ...?" She glanced back at Roger before gaping at a trickle of blood from his mouth as he sat up. "How ...? But that's-!"

_A __robot __may __not __injure __a __human __being __or__, __through __inaction__, __allow __a __human __being __to __come __to __harm ... Roger's completely human - Luffy shouldn't have been able to hit him unless he was actually a cyborg! Is he actually ...?_

"Wonderful! I knew one of those idiots would send one. Really truly free! Those others are all just talk!" Nami gaped at Roger as he stood up, "I had to know." He grinned broadly, the blood smear making him appear menacing, "You're a real man."

Luffy finally began to look confused as well, and he asked, "No, I'm not. You know what I am. You knew soon as I came in."

"Mmmn, let me guess. Dragon's work. Must be. Only one other idiot would desecrate that face, and even then, he'd count his brain cells before trying it."

Nami blinked, "You knew Luffy?"

"Knew?" He spit to the side, and Nami delicately stepped back a smidge, "Kid practically lived here."

Nami's mind began to race then, and her eyes widened in realization, "I forgot! Luffy, we have to go."

"Huh? But-"

"Now!" She grabbed his hand, yanking him along quickly, "I'm sorry for disturbing you! Maybe we can talk on the phone later!"

"Luffy?" Passing a side hallway, Nami looked up to see Portgas D. Ace standing in there.

* * *

_I had to rewrite this three or four times. On top of that, _The Wheel of Time_ ended, and there was nothing that was going to stop me from reading the last book. Not even book 8 through 11. On that note, if you're gonna whine that I took too long, shut up, and read a book series where the author _died_ before he could finish it himself, and thus left mountains of notes for someone to finish his masterwork. In other words, why the hell are you still reading this? Get started already with book 1, _The Eye of the World_._


End file.
